H. Kyle on Dean Fortin’s sold-out Council endangering our heritage Johnson Street bascule designed by Joseph Strauss: ‘Is it not about time that the Mayor and Council put the Blue Bridge Project on hold until they actually have done a complete risk assessment and actually have a regional transportation plan to work with?’

So what is with doing a Risk Assessment after the politicians made the decision to spend $77 million on a new bridge?

Isn’t that like closing the gate after the horses have left the paddock!

Good governance requires good management skills – decision making skills.

The risk assessment should have been done in advance of the decision making process.

It really seems like the Mayor and Council have dealt with the “Bridge” like children with gift-money burning a hole in their pockets; they are focused on finding ways to spend it without doing any risk assessment.

The Mayor and Council do not seem to understand that the residents of Victoria do not need a new bridge.

Big surprise! The residents who do not live in Victoria would like a new Bridge – and who would not be all for it if it did not cost them any tax dollars.

Why not put a toll on the new bridge – better yet: put a toll on the Blue Bridge now for other than pedestrians and cyclists and Victoria residents – then see who is willing to pay to use the bridge.

Answer: no one!

Perhaps the new bridge should be named Fortin’s Folly so everyone will remember what not to do the next time a politician has some bright idea about how to spend our tax money.

The new bridge is really a bridge to nowhere!

There is no regional transportation plan.

How does the CRD pushing for a LRT to terminate at Uptown make sense for Victoria residents to pay for a new bridge when the transportation corridor will be Douglas Street?

Who is going to pay for upgrading the roads through Esquimalt and Saanich to handle the tranffic on the new bridge?

And why has Esquimalt modified Esquimalt Road to decrease traffic and impede the flow of traffic?

Is that part of the grand plan by Victoria to justify a new bridge to nowhere?

Are Victoria, Saanich and View Royal going to upgrade Craigflower Rd to handle all the traffic from the new bridge?

If not, then why is Victoria going to build a new bridge to nowhere?

If LRT is in the future, then how does spending $77 million on a vehicle bridge make any sense, when there is the Bay Street Bridge?

If encouraging green transportation is important, why not modify the Blue Bridge to handle only public transportation, cyclists and pedestrians?

Why spend $77 million for a bridge to no where that is supposed to handle cars?

If the objective is to discourage the use of cars and there is no commitment from any residents in the bedroom communities to actually pay for the road upgrades, why build a new bridge?

Is it not about time that the Mayor and Council put the Blue Bridge Project on hold until they actually have done a complete risk assessment and actually have a regional transportation plan to work with?

Does it not make sense to stop wasting taxpayers’ funds by pursuing an ill-conceived fantasy when something simple and more cost-effective would address the transportation objectives of today and the foreseeable future?

Is the raised rail bridge really a graphic sign to all Victoria residents from the Mayor and Council reflecting their displeasure with being questioned and pushed to actually provide good governance?